Pierson's Penelope Greene sets school mark in 1,500 meters

Penelope Greene is nothing if not efficient. The Pierson High School senior wanted to break five minutes in the 1,500 meters this spring, and it took her only one race to do so. Not only did she accomplish her goal, but she etched her name in the history books as well.

Greene, who runs for East Hampton during the outdoor season, ran four minutes, 54.8 seconds during a duel meet against Amityville on May 20, breaking the program record of 4:56.55 set by Dana Cebulski in March of 2013, coach Yanina Cuesta said.

"It felt awesome," Greene said. "I was so happy and excited. I didn't think I was going be able to do it the first time. I was just so happy the rest of the meet and I was running around and hugging my parents."

In a bit of a fortunate oddity, the 1,500 was run at the same time as the boys 1,600, Greene said. The girls started 100 meters in front of the boys and the two sections began at the same time, albeit running different races.

Although Greene wasn’t technically competing with the boys, she said it was helpful to have something to chase and pull her under the five-minute mark.

"It was a great push," Greene said. "I was in the lead for the majority of the race, and then the last 150 meters, [the boys] started passing me. Only two of the boys passed me. So, I was third overall … Once they passed me, it was like, ‘OK, stay with them for this last 100 meters.’"

When she crossed the line, five minutes was still seconds away. She had done it – and not a moment too soon.

Connetquot’s Cooper breaks pole vault record

Micah Cooper didn’t have the number in mind. But suddenly, there he was, the pole vault bar at 14 feet, seven inches and his instrument of choice in his hand.

Cooper cleared it, breaking the Connetquot school record in the process Monday afternoon. The mark was tops in Suffolk and fourth in the state as of Thursday night, according to milesplit.com.

"I woke up that morning having no clue I would ever break the school record," said Cooper, a senior. "My thoughts throughout the day were, ‘I’m just going to go have fun and give it my all’ … My adrenaline was through the roof and it all just happened."

Cooper’s previous personal best was 14-3, he said. In fact, he had never even attempted 14-7 – and he cleared it on his first try.

"I hit it, mainly because of my speed and my strength on the runway," said Cooper, who will compete at Holy Family University in Pennsylvania next school year. "… I never doubt myself and I always try to reach the highest I can reach. When I was looking at [the bar], I just thought of it as a lower height and just tried to do my best."

Bethpage’s Sheehan tops in two events

Matthew Sheehan likes the 400 meters better than the 800. It’s less thinking, more fun, he said. But don’t doubt him in either event. Sheehan won the 400 in 52.88 seconds and the 800 in 2:13.27 at the Nassau B-III Championships Wednesday afternoon.

Sheehan also holds the top Nassau time in both events as of Thursday night – a 50.34 in 400 and a 1:57.9 in the 800 – according to trackconference.com.

"I treat the 400 as a workout, and the 800 is my main [event]," said Sheehan, a senior. "… In the 400, I’m hoping to get under 49 seconds and, in the 800, I’m trying to get below 1:55."